KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait plunged further into political turmoil yesterday after a hard-line lawmaker submitted a request to quiz the prime minister, the third such move in a week.
Islamist lawmaker Mohammad Hayef accuses Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah of being responsible for allowing the demolition of two mosques built illegally on state land.
Hayef had called on Sheikh Nasser to refer the head of the government agency responsible for demolitions to the public prosecution but he refused, even though he had ordered the agency to halt mosque demolitions.
Last week, Islamist MPs filed two requests to question Sheikh Nasser in Parliament over allegations of mismanagement, breach of the constitution and failure to adopt a prudent economic policy, besides misuse of public funds.
The grillings fueled speculations of an imminent decision by Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah to dissolve Parliament, elected only last year, and call for fresh polls within two months.
Several MPs said last week that a decision to dissolve the 50-member house had been taken. The announcement is expected this week.
It is the first time any prime minister of the emirate has faced three grillings at the same time.
Sheikh Nasser, a nephew of the emir, has been under constant political pressure ever since he became premier in February 2006.
The most recent of his five Cabinets was appointed in January. His four previous Cabinets resigned after disputes with Parliament, the latest in November when three Islamist MPs applied to question Sheikh Nasser over allegations of mismanagement and allowing a banned Iranian cleric to enter Kuwait.
